PPP: Obama by 6 in Wisconsin

The latest from Public Policy Polling shows Obama with a modest lead in Wisconsin:

Barack Obama's considerably weaker in Wisconsin than he was in 2008, but he still looks like the clear favorite to win the state again. We find him with 50% to 44% for Mitt Romney.

Obama actually has under water approval numbers in the state. 47% think he's doing a good job, while 48% disapprove. But voters aren't very high on Romney either. Only 41% rate him favorably, while 50% have a negative opinion of him.

One thing that could make the state look like much more of a toss up is if Romney chooses Paul Ryan as his running mate. Ryan has a pretty solid 44/39 favorability rating and if he was on the ticket Obama's lead would decline all the way to 47/46. Ryan's presence has the effect of further unifying the GOP base around Romney and also helping to bring some more independent voters into the fold.

There was a lot of speculation after the Wisconsin recall election last month, when incumbent GOP Gov. Scott walker handily beat his Democratic challenger, that the state might be less of a solidly blue state on the presidential level than it's been in the last few decades. But most recent polling there has given Obama about the same margin of advantage as this PPP poll does.